Oh God, what will become of the kids with all this technology, we fret. But what must someone from 1920 have thought of my own childhood, parked in front of the TV watching reruns? Of course, the kids scoff at our fear for them. They laugh straight in our faces and assure us, correctly, that they’re not the ones being duped by the Internet, we are. Thank God for their fearlessness. They dive into the change we find terrifying. It is always thus: the kids in America, wild and defiant, wresting the world from their elders and making it anew.

Kim Wilde, "Kids in America," written by Ricky Wilde and Marty Wilde, 1981.

This post is part of Music 100, a love letter to songs. 100 words on 100 songs in 100 days, running from Groundhog Day to May 31, 2025.

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